Etheostoma cervus: A New Species from the Forked Deer River System in Western Tennessee with Comparison to Etheostoma pyrrhogaster (Percidae: Subgenus Ulocentra)

Analysis of 27 standard and truss measurements, 15 meristic characters, and coloration of the Etheostoma pyrrhogaster species complex across its range supported the recognition of two allopatric and diagnosable species within this complex. The previously described E. pyrrhogaster and Etheostoma cervus, a new species described herein, are endemic to the Obion and Forked Deer River systems, respectively, in western Kentucky and Tennessee. The two species differ in pigmentation of nuptial males with E. pyrrhogaster having extensive turquoise pigmentation in dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins, whereas E. cervus lacks extensive turquoise pigmentation in these fins. The ventral portion of the head of nuptial male E. pyrrhogaster has a green cast, whereas this area in nuptial male E. cervus is straw colored. Lateral-line scales are modally 42 in E. pyrrhogaster and 39 in E. cervus. Interorbital width and body depth are also greater in E. pyrrhogaster than in E. cervus.